Faefrost

I think The merchandising rights to the prior movies has only just reverted to Disneys control. Plus there are rumors that some of the merchandising for the Fox Xmen and Sony Spider-Man movies may also be going through Disney. So we may start to see a surge from prior films hopefully

I think a lot of that came when they started using their newer color injection technology, whereby they use a single neutral color raw plastic, and inject the dye into it as part of the IM process right at the. Point of manufacture. It's a very clean capable system. But you will see greater subtle variances between batches or production sites. Prior to this TLG was getting plastic pellets pre colored. The new system is a huge leap forward in manufacturing tech. But I think it makes addressing some QC related issues a bit more challenging. Basically not all color variations are considered CS issues.

Technically he is selling a finished model, which is allowed. I believe the fact that he did identify it as being related to Cavegod's design is sufficient for legal purposes as he is giving credit where credit is due. Just as you can buy a plastic model kit of the enterprise from the hobby store. build it up nicely, and then sell it as a completed model. if he were to start producing and selling these at a commercial volume it might be another matter. But what this seller is doing looks well within the boundaries by all appearances. Basically he is saying "I am selling this model that I built from Cavegod's instructions". Where it might also get weird is if he was selling Cavegod's instructions and a pile of unconnected bricks.

Nice work, and some truly neat color effects.

I think if they are to do a huge Hobbit theme set, it will probably be one centered around the dragon. That is the core focal point of the book and the movies. The big looming threat. Plus it is something really really different. Something that they have not done before in a large set. A huge organic creature set. Plus like Orthanc it lets them do a huge set without the expectation of a huge army of minifigs. At best a Dale / BO5A set or a Dol Gulder set would mostly be Helm's Deep in another form. A large battle against a fortress. If they were to do another single large set of that nature than honestly LotR's Gondor is the far better, more iconic and more desired subject. Plus it at least has a nice distinct color pallet to differentiate it. Maybe a large Erebor Playset? Kind of like the LR Silver Mine, but on a scale of the Deathstar or Ewok Village. The gates and steps and secret entrance on the front, and the back with the throne room, treasure hall, forges, secret passage, etc and the dragon sitting inside it? A full company of 13 Dwarves and Bilbo, all in battle armor.

While we are talking about some of the pitfalls and benefits of CuuSoo projects that involve ongoing Lego Licenses or propose new ones, I noticed something on the CuuSoo blog that I had overlooked in the past. "Suggesting a new license introduces factors outside of our control.Understand if your idea is for us to produce a new licensed item, you’re introducing factors into the review process that can diminish your chances. Most licenses are owned by large corporations, so striking an agreement requires many stakeholders and legal complexity. Also, some licenses can be exclusive or can forbid us from working with competing brands. Note that if a license doesn’t work out, we will not produce a project as an unlicensed version, since the supporters would have been gained because of the license. While your chances are slim, if your licensed project succeeds you’ll be a hero to fans of your favorite brand!" Note the bolded and underlined section. Also, some licenses can be exclusive or can forbid us from working with competing brands. In other words some licenses, particularly some existing ones, may block a new separate license. This is the first real confirmation I have ever seen of some things that have long been rumored. As an example it has long been rumored that many Lucasfilms Star Wars licenses specifically blocked the license holder from also or simultaneously licensing certain competing SciFi properties. With Paramount's Star Trek being the big one. From this statement we can pretty safely surmise that those rumors are most likely true, or at least have been true in the past. (Who knows what Disney's views on the subject might now be?). And really think about it? What else could this statement really mean? Of Lego's existing licenses, how many have what would be considered "directly competing properties"? Harry Potter might block Percy Jackson sets? LotR might block Game of Thrones? I think Occam's Razor kind of leads us to more than suspect that yes the big elephant in the room is Star Wars, and yes they are really talking about Star Trek. But it also raises some interesting issues when trying to figure out what might pose an issue for a licensed CuuSoo project. It might conflict or be excluded in a way that is not readily apparent at a first second or even third glance. (and I'm sorry if I bore everyone to tears with this stuff. I just always find the business side of these sorts of things fascinating.)

The Easter Egg is midway through the credits. The scene starts "2 years later".

Of those I would hand over money hand over fist for an XS Freighter and a Harrower. The Thranta I like, but just can't wrap my brain around how it would look in Lego?

I still think you all are being way to hopeful on things like Thranduil's halls. I can't help but suspect that it will probably fall into that same vague area as Edoras. We already have a scene pretty much depicting when they enter Thranduil's control, and when they escape it. So that's the two main action and conflict points. Everything in between is architecture and dialog. Assuming 5 new boxed sets my speculation goes something like this; 1. Cheap set $12'ish. Gandalf and Rhadagast at Dol Gulder. Gandalf, Rhadagast, some scenery and the bunny sled. Maybe a skeleton or similar. 2. $20 - $30 set. Something simple and generic. Call it "Orc Chase". 3 orcs, 2 Dwarves a Worg. Some random bit of scenery, probably trees. 3. Lake Town set. $50. Mid priced, as revealed. 4. $79 set near top. Beorn's House. Something looking for that Bag End lightning again. Nice enclosed house. Bilbo, Big'ish fig Beorn (ala Hagrid) 2 Dwarves and 2 orcs. This might be where we see Azog used. If we follow the book at all isn't there some animosity between Beorn and the Orc leader at the BO5A? 5. Halls of Erebor, $99 - $139. The Smaug set if any exists. Large brick built dragon.(sorry big fig fans, but Smaug is probably just too big. Probably a big fig type printed head attached to a large Ninjago like build. ) the treasure room (or 2 wall pieces of it.) the throne. Secret passage in, etc. Bilbo, several Dwarves, a bird, a few ex Dwarf skellies ala Moria, etc. Just my 2c of a wild assed guess.

Just saw The Wolverine. It was surprisingly good. Really good. I mean almost allows forgiveness XMen Origins Wolverine good and starts to repair the damage from X3. If you are a fan of the original Clairemont/Miller Wolverine solo miniseries, this is pretty close to the movie you have been begging and praying for for decades. It has some flaws, but it is still easily one of the years best comic book movies. Oh and whatever you do... Stay through the credits! You're welcome!

I think the whole "Satanism" aspect of the character might work against any Lego sets more than the actual violence in the property. Ghost Rider came out of that weird period of 1970's Satanic/Horror books that even Marvel would kind of like to sort of forget these days. Alongside such other characters as "Son of Satan", "Satana", and the Man Thing book.

It just has one of those plate wedged and bent in half in set 70705. I ended up having to contact CS and request a replacement. You don't actually have to call them. The replacement part mechanism on the web site works really well. Just punch in the set number, select the damaged part and tell them what was wrong. They typically send it out no problem.

The mech also has a huge North American following. Robotech was one of the breakout anime shows that got actual major airtime in North America, and in many ways started the modern interest in anime. Plus the mech has its own fan base from when FASA pirated its design and used it in the original Battletech / Mechwarrior tabletop games. Not to mention it's appearance in several BT and MW video games. It was the extremely popular "Pheonix Hawk" mech, before Harmony Gold finally stepped on FASA (and deservedly so in this case. FASA blatantly stole art and designs from Macross/Robotech, Crusher Joe, and Dougram). Heck When Netflix added the Robotech series in the US not to long ago it rapidly rose to the top in popularity and has never really come down. All of which makes the simple fact that any North American merchandise license for this property is such a nightmare completely and utterly heartbreaking to the fans.

It's modern Hollywood and Disney. Unless the bottom completely drops out of the 3d market this year (we can all pray, can't we?) I'm sure Disney will do the same 3d and non 3d dual release that all major action movies seem to get these days.

The Macross project is dead on arrival because it is a horribly contested license that is so embroiled in international litigation, and has been for the past 20 years, that TLG would have no clear or clean way to get it and distribute a set worldwide. Macross is not the same license as Robotech. Macross currently can't license into North America (which is why you need to buy all the good Valkyrie kits from Hobby Link Japan or specialty import shops). Harmony Gold and Robotech aren't giving up this fight either. They just released a new "Robotech" sequel on DVD this week. Unless Lego could come to separate licences with Big West in Japan and Asia and Harmony Gold in North and South America (and possibly Europe, I am not sure where HG's merchandising rights extend) they would be stepping into a legal catfight. It breaks my heart to say this. I so want one of those Valkyries.

Given that there were only around 100 or so handed out, I'm betting they are exceeding most of the reviewers budgets.

It may yet be ANH heavy. Considering that the new movies will pick up from Luke Leia Han etc, it would not be a bad plan for Lucasfilms and Lego to push the focus to going back to those beginnings. They are going to be seeking to re familiarize everyone with the OT, so late 2014 may have some real love for OT fans.

Grand Emporium. It's the next of those sets to be retired and it is one that you will regret not getting. The Superman Wonder Woman set is a great set and very cheap. I also like the funhouse set. The best DC figure selection.

Really? They need to "get out ahead of Lego's planning curve by putting out a dozen projects"? Okaaaay? If you think it will work by all means run with it. If I might offer one piece of advise regarding presentation, since you wish to make a concerted push on multiple projects. Break up the color pallets from project to project. Right now most of your sets share a fairly common color pallet. And then further your presentation backdrops, graphics text is of a similar color and design motif. On CuuSoo all you really have to make your project stand out is that single first picture. At a reduced size. If that image is not clean unique and grabbing people will not click on the project to see what lies within. And if they don't click, they don't vote. This is especially true for projects such as your that do not have a highly motivated embedded niche fan base behind them. Much of that decision to click on the image comes from color presentation. As an example look at the grip of images you posted in the first post of this thread. There is some beautiful work in there. But if you scale them down to CuuSoo thumbnails the typical user will not see the difference from one to the other. All they see is fairly busy images with the same pallet and presentation. That doesn't suck them in to click on it. They are already working at a slight disadvantage just from being LDD or digital images. Which tend to feel flat and look alike no matter how you tweak them. The two photographs above of the Pegasus and Chariot sets actually are much more compelling. The project stands out in them, and there is enough white space to let it show up well in a reduced thumbnail.

I would guess it may have come down to a trade off in the mold design. It all depends on where they can hide the seams and how the part release would work. If I am not mistaken the main mold seams run straight down the front of the helmet for the Phase I and Mandalorian helmets. The greater molded detail on the front of the Phase II Helmet may have made it more desire able to move the mold seams, and that in turn might have caused an issue with mold release for molded in holes at the temples. In a design conflict the holes were probably viewed as the less important feature and were sacrificed for an improved base helmet.

It may have been cut somewhere along the line. Lego starts their set development early on based on preliminaries, and this movie was ripe with cost over runs. It was probably planned in an earlier script. This movie did borrow a lot of the back story from the 1981 "Legend of the Lone Ranger" movie, and that would have fit in with it.

I took her statement as an indication of 5 (maybe 6 with 1 very small) retail box sets, plus maybe a few other bonus items such as Polybags. Which would put its release size somewhere between AUJ's and the second LotR wave. With at a minimum 2 sets from AUJ still being kept out on the shelf, much the same as there are still a good number of LotR 1st wave sets out there.

You may be being overly optimistic. They don't exactly have a record of simply following a path of "big and major scenes" in their set selection, or of assigning big and major sets to such scenes. What works against A Thranduil's hall in my mind is we already have a mid priced set that gives us the major action piece of that sequence. The Barrel Escape set. I think the big set this wave might be some sort of Erebor / Smaug set. Keep in mind they have 2 "elf" sets already in play from the first wave. They don't need to reissue these. They simply don't retire them yet. Assuming the next wave is 5 new boxed sets, with Lake Town being the Middle or 4th priciest.

Probably not unless he shows up in a movie or TV show. (Although a big fig exclusive giveaway would be kind of neat.)

On a completely different subject. How much does the Orthanc set weigh? It just dawned on me as I figure out a display place that weight might be an issue with some shelves?